Bird Sitting

Bird sitting is the temporary care of domesticated birds in the home. Today there are a number of options for bird owners to care for their pets when they travel away from home on holiday. Here we explain some of the common traits and experiences in bird sitting for bird sitters and bird owners. At HouseSitMatch.com we can offer sitters with bird care experience.

What is bird sitting?

Bird sitting is an arrangement where you find bird sitters to care for your pet birds. If you are new to housesitting we can also advise you on what is housesitting to prepare you for this type of arrangement.

If you only have one pet bird and you are only away a short time it might be easy to search the internet for phrases like bird daycare near me, parakeet boarding near me, or bird caretaker near me. However, birdsitting assignments for more pets and for long periods warrant a better solution.

Pet birds

The most popular birds kept as domesticated pets include: Cockatiels, Budgerigars, African Grey Parrots, Quaker parrots, Caiques, Conures, Finches, Canaries, Chickens and Ducks. Many are loved for their birdsong, some for their personalities, and some for their ability to mimic human voices. As bird sitting charges they can be really fun too.

What does a bird sitter do?

Birds are largely intelligent active animals who’s needs must be identified and addressed. If you need more detailed pet advice read on.

First of all, when bird sitting, sitters must seek a good brief as to the needs of the birds, routines and feeding protocols. Bird owners must likewise help them by preparing a thorough brief on the requirements of the bird sit.

Bird sitting services

Pet sitting for birds is another way of offering bird sitting services. This includes feeding, cage cleaning and hand feeding if required.

Some house sitters who are also bird sitters are live in pet sitters. They will follow your brief to care for your pets while living in your home.

It is often best to have the sitters living in to ensure a watchful eye on your pets giving you peace of mind. It is often easier to find bird sitters to move into your home rather than look for exotic bird boarding near me.

Some pet owners prefer to allow their birds to roam free in the home. This will be most likely for a period of time each day.  Once playtime is over, open the front door on the cockatiel cage from Bird Cages Now to safely return the parrot to their enclosure.

What should I ask my bird sitter?

Sitters must be briefed on length and frequency of these free roaming sessions, and where in the home or on the property they take place. You might take a moment to ask them some specific questions to check their bird knowledge. Check their knowledge about feeding, and cage care.

If you have exotic birds it is worth writing down the special details that a live in pet sitter might need for daily care of exotic birds and pets.

Briefing bird sitters on feeding routines

Foods and feeding routines can vary between different sizes of birds, and somewhat between domesticated and exotic bird species.

In general, remember to instruct a bird sitter that your birds follow a similar diet plan to humans. When you instruct a bird sitter remember, there is a requirement of 50% grains, and 45% fruit and vegetable matter.

Bird sitters  need guidance on the specific variations of feeding routines.

If there is a variety of birds in an aviary, then detailed information regarding foods, feeding and cleaning is required.

Bird minding and Bird sitting

Bird minding is an alternative term for bird sitting or petsitting for birds. This is where a sitter is requested to care for the pets for a temporary period of time.

Different birds will require varying levels of care. Some birds are easy maintenance and need feeding, fresh water and a change of tray paper periodically.

Exotic bird sitter

You may have opted for more exotic pets, in a moment of wild adventure. You might have chosen to settle for a beautiful and rather unusual looking bird simply because of how exotic and exciting it looks.

Then you’ll need someone to petsit who has experience with birds and an aptitude to looking after these beautiful creatures, or at least is willing to take instruction. You need an exotic bird sitter.

Perhaps when you were looking for a beautiful bird, you opted for one of the rarest parrots a Blue-throated Macaw or something that reminds you of that rare and beautiful creature. Or maybe you went the whole way and decided to adopt something far larger, ostriches from your local zoo. It has been done and exotic pets sitters have been requested to care for these creatures!

The exotics – How do I take care of a pet bird?

Some birds need more involved care with specific feeding and free roaming routines, supervised by the sitter. Sometimes hand feeding is required for particular birds needing specific nourishment. You can advise the live in housesitter bird sitter how you prefer them to handle your pets.

And so most importantly, you should write a clear brief. We have templates you can use and reference to plan what a house sitter does for you. As a result there will be clarity in the instructions for the sitter bird minding. This is essential for the live in pet sitters.

Petsitting with chickens

Also, if you are minding hens with chickens you will need to follow the daily routine given to you carefully.

Pet sitting with chicken needs as much preparation as any other domestic bird or pet. Furthermore, you must write clear specifications for whether or not you wants eggs left for brooding hens, or eggs removed on a daily basis.

Caring for cockerels

Most noteworthy, feisty cockerels also need to be understood as much as the daily routines required to keep them healthy and safe.

If you fancy raising chickens and want to learn how before you brief a live in pet sitter then do some research. Once you have them installed in their own chicken hut and have nailed your routines then find a pet sitting service to help you before you go away.

How to become a bird sitter

At HouseSitMatch.com we can help you to connect with bird minders who will take on your bird sitting assignments in exchange for free accommodation. These can be experienced housesitters who are also live in pet sitters. We can also help you understand what are the responsibilities of a house sitter.

We offer our registered members a variety of document templates to help you prepare for a bird sitter or any other pet sitter.

Register on HouseSitMatch.com. It takes just five minutes. If you need extra help CONTACT US and we can help you in real time. We are available to help you.